Babylon
I will never not stand by this movie, every second of this is the most meaningful thing to ever be made. For me to think this deserves anything less than 5 stars was simply my own ignorance. I deeply apologize. The love for the history of movies is oozing out of this. Chazelle is a genius and made his love letter to Hollywood. I hate that people dislike this movie, maybe they don’t understand it. The characters are so interesting and tell an amazing story of living in the movie industry while transforming to the talkie era. Chazelle of course includes a lot of music and jazz aspects to the movie and it’s amazing. Margot Robbie, dear lord, one of the best performances I’ve ever seen and honest to god simply underrated. She must’ve been exhausted after everyday of shooting all the energy she releases. I feel that no one in the world could’ve played Jack Conrad better than Brad Pitt, not sure why but he just feels right as that character. Going through a completely different thing than Nellie but nevertheless still very important what is happening to him. Manny is just the most amazing person, it’s amazing to watch him grow.
“Because it’s bigger than you…in a hundred years when you and I are both long gone, anytime someone threads a frame of yours through a sprocket, you will be alive again…a child born in 50 years will stumble across your image flickering on a screen and feel he knows you, like a friend, though you breathed your last before he breathes his first.”
When Elinor says this it just resonates with me so deeply. I feel this every time I watch one of my favorite old time actors or actresses. I know this is referring to the 20s era but when I watch people like Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, etc, I feel the same thing. Like I’m bringing them back to life for a couple hours. They are all long passed, but for a moment they are back in their best roles. It’s a magical thing and something I think about anytime I watch an old movie.
In the ending, Manny going to theater and crying is really just the best grand finale and shows how much it means to him and how much it means to all of us.
All the actors, crew members, producers, will all pass away one day. But the films they created will live on and be seen for decades and decades to come. This is what it means when people say they want to work in movies to be a part of something bigger than them. It’s bigger than any one person. One of the reasons I love film.
One of the greatest of all times, I love movies that remind us why we love movies so much. If someone asks why do I like movies, go watch this movie. It’s the chase of that feeling.